


you and me are the difference between real love and the love on tv

by preciousthings



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Battle of the Bands, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-10
Updated: 2014-01-10
Packaged: 2018-01-08 04:44:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1128484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/preciousthings/pseuds/preciousthings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the rivalry's kind of shit, but michael tries not to let the whole thing ruin him and harry. because that would just suck, wouldn't it? </p>
<p>(michael and harry are in rival bands and date secretly)</p>
            </blockquote>





	you and me are the difference between real love and the love on tv

**Author's Note:**

> this is a _reeeeeeeally_ old idea that i finally found inspiration to write. thank u fall out boy for your awesome music you're why this fic exists (seriously i only listened to fall out boy writing this). unedited, all mistakes are mine, i don't own anything! title from "where did the party go" by fall out boy :)
> 
> OH ALSO this is a (10 day late) friendshipaversary present to my best friend courtney. i'm shocked i managed to keep this a surprise for so long and SURPRISE I HOPE YOU LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 :D

"we need a plan. and not a shitty plan like last year. a good plan that'll help us beat directionless. i'm not letting us lose for the 4th year in a row. no way. it's on, boys." calum says one night. he's laying on the floor in michael's basement. there are 3 empty pizza boxes scattered around the floor and instruments scattered where the pizza boxes aren't. 

"you're insane if you think we're actually going to beat directionless." luke says, "they've beat us and little mix and every other band since we were freshman. we came in second twice, yeah, but we'll never beat them."

calum sits up, grabs his bass and says, "we  _are_ beating them. i hate louis tomlinson and we are beating them. never say never."

(michael always found it strange how calum never referred to louis tomlinson as anything but louis tomlinson. he's started picking up on it too, dammit)

"you just said never twice." michael smirks from where he's sprawled on the couch.

"i'm ignoring your negativity and getting back to the point. we're going to beat them and we're going to go out with a bang. directionless can suck my dick." 

"i don't understand why you're making such a big deal, calum," ashton speaks up from behind the drum kit. "the kill all the things mentality is really harsh. it's the same battle of the bands we've done since freshman year. a few new bands, maybe, but luke is right. we have absolutely no chance against directionless."

"we do have a chance. it's game time, motherfuckers." 

michael thinks this whole thing is just ridiculous. like, why is beating a band who hasn't beat them since they were freshman such a big deal? directionless is  _good_. their music is good and their vocals are good and everything about them is just good. whatever it is, they have  _it._ sure, michael's band has it too, but not enough. and michael's not just saying that because the rhythm guitarist and vocalist of directionless is his boyfriend. 

sure, maybe he's fraternizing with the enemy (has been for a good four months now), but no one has to know he is.

it's just something that happened over time (the best thing to happen to him). it started with getting paired up for a project in a journalism class. michael had never been as against talking to any of directionless as calum is, but he wasn't thrilled to be paired with harry. his opinion changed within five minutes of actually working together, one on one. harry's a good guy. he's funny in a dorky way and an absolute  _loser_ in the kindest, most loving way possible. it's what makes michael like him so much. so like, the project turned into a lot more than just a project on entertainment journalism. it turned into kissing and things. things like two weeks after they handed in the project in, harry asking michael to be his boyfriend kind of things. they decide that they won't tell their bands. it's just less fuel to the rivalry, being it's bad enough without relationships. this would just set the rivalry on fire. calum might actually kill something and god only knows what the directionless bassist, louis tomlinson, would do. he's almost worse than calum. it's all over in may, anyway. last battle of the bands ever, last time directionless is against his band. 

so the rivalry's kind of shit, but michael tries not to let the whole thing ruin him and harry. because that would just suck, wouldn't it?

~

michael's been stuck in calum's stupid "game time" routine for two months now and it's starting to get to him. it's march, battle of the bands is in april, and michael is just  _tired_. tired of singing the same songs and playing the same riffs and not seeing his boyfriend. he needs harry time. 

it seems like the stars align because for the first time in what seems like forever, they're not rehearsing on a friday night and harry isn't working or practicing. he doesn't even care what they do, he just wants harry. texting him and sneaking looks in the hallway just isn't cutting it anymore. it's hard, really hard. 

they have a night. they finally have one night together. harry comes over after school and sneaks in through the back door (calum lives down the block and they both don't want to risk it. not this close to the competition). michael's staring at a nearly empty fridge when harry comes in and snakes an arm around his waist from behind. "hi," harry says, michael can hear his smile, "think something's gonna pop out at you there?" 

"my parents are out tonight and i have to fend for myself. nothing good enough to be a dinner in here." michael spins around so he's facing harry, pecks his lips, "hey." 

"nothing a quick trip to the supermarket can't fix. 'm not cooking it all, though. you have to help me whether you like it or not." 

"i might set something on fire, though." michael pouts. he knows there's no way he's getting out of this but he might as well try it. 

"i guess that's just a risk we'll have to take." harry backs against the kitchen island, pulling michael with him. he leans down to properly kiss michael, and  _god_ , it's been so long since he's actually gotten the chance to kiss harry without worrying about someone seeing them. it's nice. 

"c'mon, let's go now. so we have time together after." michael smiles when harry pulls back. 

harry drives to the supermarket. michael likes letting him drive just because harry lets him control the music. there's also a less likely chance of an accident if harry drives. 

michael's never had so much fun in a supermarket as he has that day. he pushes the cart around, running behind harry because he seems to think this is a fucking episode of dinner impossible and he's being timed. he hasn't laughed this hard in so long, so hard that they both need to stop to catch to their breaths. harry seems to know exactly what he's doing, like he does this cooking thing.

harry makes pizza dough when they get back to michael's, giving michael a green pepper and a red onion to cut up. this, he can handle. how hard can cutting a pepper be? more difficult than he thought, he realizes, when he's trying to take the inside layer out and he cuts his finger up. he makes harry kiss it better once the bleeding stops. harry makes him find a band-aid and finish cutting the vegetables. michael complains and pouts and whines for a whole five minutes before harry kisses him to shut him up.

while the dough is the in the fridge, they go up to michael's room and put a movie on. the movie is just background noise.

they go back into the kitchen to actually make their pizzas an hour and a half later, once the movie ends. it hits michael when he takes a second to just watch harry, how strangely domestic all of this is; this is michael's normal life and harry fits so well into it. just making a pizza in his kitchen, singing along to the fall out boy song michael put on the speakers. they're standing pressed up next to each other, reaching over pizzas for different toppings, laughing when sauce ends up on harry's nose, harry "painting" sauce on michael's face where eye black would go, michael throwing a small handful of cheese at harry. he could get used to every day with harry being like this and he's not sure if that scares him or excites him. both, probably. a little bit of both.

harry turns michael's head to face him and leans in to kiss him quickly, and the pizzas are forgotten for a moment.

"what," someone interrupts the moment, "the fuck."

michael pulls away quickly from harry, distancing himself. he knows who just walked in on them. he knows this won't end well because calum just walked in on him and harry.

"seriously, what the fuck." calum says, and michael doesn't even know how to reply.

"why the hell are you even here?" he settles on. not the best response, honestly.

"ash and luke are busy and i knew you weren't so i walked in like i do all the time? and you were sucking face with the enemy."

"can't you forget about the stupid rivalry, calum? for once in your life, just forget that harry's band and our band are rivals. it's gone too far, shit, i can't even be with my boyfriend without you getting pissed off about it." michael sighs. he doesn't know how else to do this. he figures he's losing someone by the time this is over, whether it's his best friend (and then maybe his whole band) or his boyfriend. he doesn't want to lose either.

when did he let this rivalry get in the way of his life? it was never supposed to be something this big. in ninth grade, it was nothing. he was actually _friends_ with niall horan. then directionless beat them. it escalated and escalated to the point where calum and louis tomlinson were these bitter rivals and everyone else just got dragged under. 

"how long's this been going on for?" 

"four months." michael says. 

"shit, michael, you lied to us, you're best friends, for four months?" cal says. he  _looks_ angry. michael's only seen him this angry when they lost last year.

"it's my fault," harry says, "i'm the one who suggested keeping it a secret. michael didn't want to lie." he's lying, michael  _knows_ he's lying, because the hiding their relationship was michael's idea. harry's doing this to protect michael, and no one's ever taken the blame for something as big as this for michael before. he'll do anything to keep harry, he decides right then and there. 

"even more reason for me to hate you..." calum mumbles, but michael hears it. harry does too, he tenses and looks away from michael. 

"don't talk about him like that, calum." 

"i'm leaving anyway. band meeting tomorrow morning." calum says before he walks out. 

today wasn't supposed to go like this. michael says, "i'm sorry," pulling harry into a hug. 

"'s alright." harry shrugs. 

they finish making their pizzas and put them in the oven to back before harry says anything else. the music plays on over the speakers but they're not singing along anymore. 

"maybe this is a bad idea, mike..." 

"what? no, no, no, no, harry, no." michael says, he's not letting harry leave him over this. what calum thinks about them doesn't matter. never fucking did. 

"he was so mad, michael. i'm not letting you lose your band over me." 

"stop, after you lied like that for me, you think i'm gonna let you go? i'm not." 

"you really want to be with me?" harry asks. looking at him for the first time since everything happened.

"not letting you go." 

~

by the time the pizzas are done, they're normal again. back to singing and kissing and just generally being happy together, 

it's nice.

~

everything changes on monday. 

it isn't long before everyone knows about him and harry. he hates how much attention it brings him. the rivarly is kind of a big thing. it never hit michael until now. zayn malik seems pissed, but liam payne says he thinks that they're a cute couple. calum still isn't  _that_ happy, and neither is louis tomlinson. michael doesn't have to talk to him to know that. 

he's waiting outside of a classroom for harry after school, and harry's talking to louis tomlinson. he hears something he probably wasn't supposed to hear. 

"he's just using you for information to try to beat us, harry! what don't you understand about that?" louis tomlinson says. 

"he wouldn't do that, lou. he's not that kind of person. he thinks this rivalry is as stupid as i do! why is it such a big deal that we're together?"

"he's  _playing_ you." 

michael doesn't hear anything else, leaves before he can. 

harry finds him at his locker a little while later, and michael stops listening after "need to take a break".

~

they're taking a break. 

it's not a breakup, but it damn sure feels like one. harry says they'll get back together one day. who even knows when one day will be?

it's not a mutual break at all. michael doesn't want it. michael just wants harry. 

he swore he wouldn't let the rivalry ruin them and it's exactly what happened. 

he doesn't want to take a fucking break. 

~

"never thought i'd see the day where we tell michael he needs to turn down the teenage angst. you're like a floating dark cloud." calum says. it's been a few weeks since he and harry took a break, and it's gotten easier. not much easier, but he's starting to feel like he can breathe without harry. progress. 

"fuck off, cal." michael smirks. 

"i thought teenage angst was our thing." ash speaks up from behind the drums. 

"it makes us punk rock." luke jokes. 

they do this a lot, the four of them hanging out, to take michael's mind off of everything. calum's not mad anymore, he got over it in day. they're helping, they really, really are. 

if one good thing came out of this (do good things ever come out of things like this?), it's that michael's close with his three best friends all over again. they were getting distant over everything, and michael's just so glad to have them back again. the four of them, the dream team. they're like they used to be; friendship first, music second. 

~

michael's pretty sure he's never been so nervous to play before. battle of the bands is never usually this nerve wracking. maybe it's because it's his last time. or because harry's here. probably the latter. 

he's standing in the back, watching sets and talking to calum, and perrie, the lead guitarist and vocalist of little mix. so far, he seems to think there's not much serious competition. then again, directionless hasn't performed yet. 

and when they do, well.... michael wasn't expecting  _that_. 

they sound the same, if not better than last year. that's not even what michael pays attention to. harry's wearing a red flannel that looks very familiar. like, it used to be in michael's closet kind of familiar. it's michael's shirt and harry's wearing it on stage and michael kind of wants to cry because a lot of feelings he forgot about as time passed come back. because of a stupid shirt. 

michael has to forget about it because he has to play.

~

michael doesn't know if it's just being on stage or the two red bulls he downed before they went on, but he feels like he's  _on fire_. there's no better feeling in the world than this. this is as good as it gets. he does it all perfectly, the scream and his vocals and his riffs, and it's just. insane? that's a good word for it. they wanted to go out with a bang, and they sure as hell are. 

except when it all comes down to it.

"second place goes to... 5 seconds of summer!"

no matter what they do, they're always second best to directionless. and they'll just have to live with it. 

~

right after it ends, michael goes to look for harry. he finds him back by their instruments, talking to louis tomlinson. 

"h-hey," he says, "congratulations. you guys were really good. i'm really happy for you, harry." 

"thanks, mikey." harry blushes. he's still wearing the flannel, now his hair is pulled back with an american flag bandana that michael swears is his too. 

"you're actually happy for him?" louis tomlinson asks, "you never used him to gather intel on our band? you're genuinely happy that your rivals won?" 

"i'm not that much of a dick, tomlinson."

"told you," harry smirks. 

"you were never playing him? ever? i'm still not a fan of you or your band... but you never used him?" 

"i'm not calum." michael states, simply. 

"lou, could you like, leave?" harry asks; he's smiling, a small smile but his dimple still shows. 

"trying to get rid of me, styles?" louis laughs. 

"in the kindest way possible." 

louis tomlinson leaves and then it's just the two of them. it's silent, a weird cloud of awkward just floating over them. michael doesn't know if he should talk first. thankfully, harry does. "can we try again? start over? forget that our best friends hate each other and just focus on us?" 

michael thinks for a second; thinks,  _will it be worth it to do this again or will the universe do everything possible to keep us apart again?_ finally thinks,  _fuck it_ , and says, "hi, i'm michael and i think you're really cute." 

"i'm harry and i think you're cuter." harry wraps michael in a hug, holds him tight and close to make up for lost time. 

"do you want to go out with me? like, tonight?" michael asks. it's how harry asked him last time. 

"i can't think of a better way to spend tonight." harry repllies, grinning. that's what michael said six months ago. 

it feels like them again. 

~

when he goes to leave with harry, he finds niall horan and louis tomlinson talking to calum, luke, and ashton. 

"looks like they're finally getting along." harry smirks. 

"four years later. better late than never, i guess." 

harry leans down to kiss michael, and michael takes back what he said before about playing on stage being the best feeling ever. because it's not. kissing harry is. 

**Author's Note:**

> sooooooo i don't like this much but i hope you did! x


End file.
